In the Loop - 3 smiles

Although you can’t summarize the plot of “In the Loop,” a political satire, in a few sentences, the dialog is hilarious and it challenges the audience to be alert enough to catch the jokes as they fly by. For example, a dovish General Miller (James Gandolfini) explains his opposition to war: ‘Once you’ve been there, once you’ve seen it, you never want to go back unless you have to. It’s like France.’ Or when a liberal American cabinet secretary (Mimi Kennedy) greets a young aide wandering aimlessly around the office: ‘Hanging, Chad?’ The movie opens in London, where Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), a small-time cabinet minister, gives one interview vaguely opposing an impending US/British co-invasion of an unnamed Middle Eastern country before making another statement vaguely supporting it. The Prime Minister’s Director of Communications, Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), whose creative use of profanity adds to the humor, rushes into contain the bumbling Foster. Of course, events spiral from there.

“In the Loop” belongs to Capaldi, who calls General Miller ‘General Flintstone’ and ‘General Shrek’ and insults others by calling them: ‘Ron Weasley,’ ‘Frodo,’ ‘Charlotte F***ing Bronte,’ and ‘J. Edgar F***ing Hoover.” He’s truly a terrifying character, but a master of the insult. Directed by UK TV veteran Armando Iannucci, this is not a film about real US/British policy, but a satirical statement about the manner in which politicians will manipulate a situation to their advantage, throwing ethics, evidence and logic out the window. The bottom line, after all, is getting what you want. It’s easy to think this is how governments really do make decisions. Scary thought. 9/5/09